The Papal States

The States of the Church

Stretching from Terracina to the River Po and from the Thyrrenian sea to the Adriatic sea, the Papal States were once very vast. The temporal power of the Popes came to an end in the 19th Century when Italy was united under the House of Savoy. On 20 September 1870 the Bersaglieri entered Rome through the breach of Porta Pia. Pope Pius IX left the Quirinal and retired to the Vatican.